Program Information

The Catholic Memorial Baseball program aims to enhance your high school experience at Catholic Memorial while competing at the highest level.

The off-season is a time to invest in getting better. Baseball players at Catholic Memorial should be doing the following:

1. Be a multisport athlete. Multisport participation leads to better overall skills and ability and is part of the high school experience. High School is the last opportunity most people have to play a sport. We have outstanding coaches to learn from at Catholic Memorial. Lessons learned in one sport transition to another, and success breeds success.

2. Participate in strength and conditioning. Getting bigger, stronger, and faster is as crucial as developing baseball skills.

3. Develop baseball skills. Get lessons, join a club baseball team, do baseball-specific training, or purchase a training tool. There are many options available. If there are any questions, please contact Coach Johnson.

Open gyms allow players to work on their baseball skills, but coaches are not permitted to instruct players during open gyms. An important aspect of open gyms is the time players spend with their teammates and coaches. 

 Please read the Out of Season Coaching sheet for WIAA rules regarding open gyms.

Effective in the spring of 2018, spring baseball coaches will have up to five days of pitching instruction during the week before the first date for baseball practice (Sun to Sat). Each athlete is permitted only one session per day with a maximum length of two hours per individual. Please read the Out of Season Coaching sheet for WIAA rules regarding Pitcher and Catcher conditioning. 

Baseball is a spring sport that begins in late March and continues until the State Championship in mid-June. Varsity playoffs typically start around Memorial Day, and the JV season commonly ends around the start of the Varsity playoffs, although extending the season to play postponed games is possible.  

Max Games:

Varsity - 26 regular-season games + WIAA tournament

JV - 26 regular-season games

Each level plays 16 Classic 8 Conference games.

The rSchool Activity Calendar is the official game schedule.

There are two teams at Catholic Memorial; Varsity and JV. Varsity is open to all grades, while JV is open to 9th, 10th, and 11th graders.

In the past, team sizes have ranged from 14-20 players. Cuts may be possible. If we feel there is a player safety issue, we will address it before team selections.

We base team selections on the following criteria:

• Measurable skills; 60-time, position velocity, exit velocity, bat speed, pop time, pitching velocity, etc.

• Past season performance

• Player’s effort, attitude, and ability to be a positive and supportive teammate

• Coaches’ judgment on how players compare to other players in the program, conference, and state

Our goal is to play each game as scheduled. We also strive to have a consistent practice schedule. However, we recognize this is unlikely to occur. Spring baseball is very fluid, with the weather and field conditions continually changing. Changing game dates and locations and moving practice times and locations will be more of the norm than the exception. This aspect of high school sports is the most unique in baseball. We will accommodate practices for all levels. Coaches will advise on cancellations and schedule changes as soon as possible. Please be aware that coaches are fully aware of the details we have yet to provide you, which means that if we have given you an event time but no location, we are still working on the site. Patience is a must as coaches work through changes.

The conference by-laws state that if a game is to be postponed, the home team should notify the visiting team by 1:30 p.m. if possible. Postponed games will be rescheduled on the first open Monday through Friday date. 

All games and practices are required. Players must be equipped for baseball (e.g., baseball hat, baseball pants, baseball cleats, gym shoes, glove, athletic cup, and all equipment) and dressed accordingly for the weather. Missing games or practices will result in playing time penalties. There is an exception for pre-approved appointments that are hard to reschedule (e.g., driver's test, ACT testing, college orientation, other school functions, etc.) and absent from school with illness. Please notify your coach before missing a game or practice.

We are students first. Players need to maintain eligibility throughout the season. Further playing time penalties may be assessed due to missed games and practices while ineligible.

Players must attend the entire school day to be eligible for a game that evening.

Attendance Procedures and Policies

Extra-curricular activities participation

• All students must be at school by 7:45 am (8:25 am on late start days) in order to participate in any extra-curricular activity after school that day.

• Exceptions to this new policy are official notes from the doctor’s, dentist’s, PT’s office, etc.

• This does not apply to our Senior Student Interns who work in the morning. 

 Limited amount of excused tardies to school 

• Students will be allowed 5 excused tardies to school per semester.

• Any tardy after the fifth tardy will be marked as unexcused.

• Exceptions to this new policy are official notes from the doctor’s, dentist’s, PT’s office, etc.

• Students with accrued unexcused tardiness will receive a demerit.

 Please see the CMH Student Handbook for more information. 

The goal is to provide an opportunity to every participant in the Catholic Memorial baseball program. Each player will participate in every practice and will be actively involved. There is no guarantee of playing time at the high school level. The coaching staff will determine opportunities and the length of the games’ opportunities at each level.

Players are resposible for their own transportation to and from games, practices, and events. 

We might rent a bus for games with considerable travel on rare occasions.

Players get an early release from class to accommodate travel to road games when applicable. Players are responsible for any missed classwork.

Spring break occurs during the baseball season. Please be aware of this when making spring break plans. It is possible to have tryouts, practices, and games over spring break.

All athletes need to be fully compliant to compete. See information below.

• Freshmen and Juniors need a current physical form A.

• Sophomores and Seniors need an alternate year form B.

• All need the WIAA compliance form signed off on MYCMH.

Athletic participation fee is due prior to start of season and fee is $300    (pay online using FinalSite or give check to CMH Business office)

Uniforms:

• Game Hat - part of the athletic fee

• Jerseys - school-issued and returned at the end of the year

• Game Pants - the player's responsibility to get a pair of solid white pants with no piping

Game Day School Dress Code:

• Game day tops

  • Can be a warmup jacket, jersey, or other piece of sport specific spirit wear

  • All athletes must have the same MATCHING top

• Game day bottoms

  • Must be in dress code – khakis, jeans, or another structured pant

  • Bottoms must be structured with zipper and button/snap

  • All bottoms must be straight legs, cuffs may not be gathered, NO JOGGERS

• Shoes

  • All shoes need a back

  • No slides, slip-ons, flip flops, or slippers

Three main points of the NFHS bat rule:

• Be 2 5/8" or less in diameter at the thickest part and 36 inches or less.

• Not weigh, numerically, more than three ounces less than the length (e.g., a 33-inch-long bat cannot be less than -3 ounces).

• Shall meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard and be labeled with a permanent certification mark.

NFHS rules allow players to wear metal cleats. However, several fields we play at have a "molded cleat only" policy. Players may want two pairs of cleats: molded and metal.

Starting in 2020, all high school and college-level baseball players must wear a chest protector that is NOCSAE-certified for protection against Commotio Cordis. Every catcher’s chest protector made before 2019 does not have the certification. All NOCSAE-certified chest protectors will have a stamp that shows it is certified by SEI and NOCSAE for protection against Commotio Cordis.

Changes have primarily been made to the large padding section in the upper middle of the chest protector to absorb and distribute impact to other parts of the chest protector, away from the heart. 

Players can wear a NOCSAE-certified undershirt or heart guard under a non-NOCSAE-certified chest protector.

Recommended Procedure for Addressing a Concern with a Coach:

1. The player seeks out his coach to discuss the concern. Parents, please speak with your son about the concern and encourage him to talk with his coach.

2. The parent requests a conference with the coach or coaching staff. Please email/call the coach at an appropriate time to request a conference.

3. If the conference between the player, parent(s), and the coach does not resolve the concern, then a meeting with the student-athlete, parent(s), coach, and Athletic Director can get set up.

Coaches will not meet with a parent immediately after a game. Please allow 24-48 hours and follow the recommended communication procedure for addressing concerns with coaches.